The present invention relates to a method of assaying the activity of cells.
A variety of methods have hithertofore been applied for assaying the activity of cells.
Such methods have been adopted, for example, for examining chemotaxis, adhesiveness, phagocytosis, release of lysozomal enzymes and release of highly reactive oxygen of phygocytes such as macrophages, monocytes and granulocytes, cytotoxicity of phagocytes, lymphocytes, NK cells or Killer cells, release of lymphokine-like substances from phagocytes and lyphocytes, phagocytosis of platelet or the like.
The known methods of assaying the activity of cells are more or less disadvantageous in that they are not quantitative, simple enough or require use of radioisotopes.
R. C. Allen et al. in BBRC 47, 1972, 679-684 report assay of the bactericidal activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes by a chemiluminescence of active oxygen. Strength of the chemiluminescence of active oxygen is measurable in itself but, the chemiluminescent response is so low that instruments of high sensitivity are required for the measurement. Combined use of a chemiluminescent is reported to overcome such difficulties (cf. R. C. Allen et al., BBRC 69, 245-252), which represents a simple and highly sensitive method without use of the radioisotope. Since the method, however, consists of addition of a chemiluminescent in solution, active oxygen released outside the cell is predominantly measured. Therefore, examination of the condition inside the cell, namely, inside the cell membrane or inside phagocytic cells is impossible.